Riviera Country Club is making its US Women’s Open debut this week, but for a bunch of star names it’s been a short stay at the iconic venue in California.
Los Angeles native Alison Lee and China’s Ruoning Yin share the lead at the halfway stage at four under, a shot clear of six other players and two ahead of World No. 1 Nelly Korda.
So, who had to pack their bags early?
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Lydia Ko arrived in California with four top-10 finishes from nine LPGA Tour events this year, but her quest for a first US Women’s title continues.
The three-time Major winner could have passed Annika Sorenstam’s career earnings record of US$22.58 million with a top-three finish.
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However, the Kiwi was left to rue three costly bogeys on the bounce from the 12th, as she missed the cut by one stroke.
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Lilia Vu’s record in her national Open doesn’t make for good reading.
This is missed cut number four in five showings for the two-time Major champion, with much of the damage being done in the opening round, when she could do no better than four over.
She was much improved on Friday, trading three bogeys with two birdies, but a 72 wasn’t good enough to make it through to the weekend.
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Jeongeun Lee6, who won the title in 2019 at the Country Club of Charleston, carded a 76 on Friday, which saw her slip to six over.
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Her struggles were largely down to her approach play, as she hit just six of 18 greens in regulation.
It was hard day at the office for the 30-year-old, who dropped six shots and made just one birdie in the second round to miss the cut by two.
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The American endured a tough return to the Major Championship scene, missing the cut by three strokes.
This was Michelle Wie West’s first Major appearance for four years, but her latest comeback attempt ended in disappointment.
Nevertheless, the 2014 champion, who announced in March that she was returning to golf after a break of more than three years, was in good spirits with her daughter present.
“As soon as I hugged her, she was like, ‘Can I go to daycare?’ I’m glad I did all this for her,” Wie West said.
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Leona Maguire will crack this tournament at some point, but it’s now three missed cuts in a row at the US Women’s Open and her sixth in total.
Starting on the back nine, the Irish star posted an even-par 36, but followed this with a four-over 39.
It was an improvement on her opening-round of 76, but still resulted in an early exit.
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After an opening round of 75, Jin Young Ko, who finished tied second at the US Women’s Open in 2020, had a lot of catching up to do on Friday, but she was out of sorts from the start, posting 40 on the front nine.
With 15 LPGA wins to her name, Ko has been the most dominant players in the women’s game in recent years, first rising to No. 1 in 2019.
However, this goes down as a week to forget.
OTHER NOTABLES TO MISS THE 2026 US WOMEN’S OPEN CUT:Megha Ganne +5Ina Yoon +5Yani Tseng +7Hyo Joo Kim +9Yuka Saso +9Madelene Sagstrom +11